Last week, we brought you the news that Tesla Motors had “built out” its free Supercharger network to extend from coast-to-coast. Although the current cross-country route is extremely limited due to Supercharger locations, it is possible.

To show that making the trek across the country is now viable, a crew of 15 drivers (all Tesla employees) drove two Model S sedans from Los Angeles to New York City. The team made the journey in just over 76 hours, covering a total distance of 3,464.5 miles. Total energy consumed by the cars during the trip: 1,197.8 kWh.

According to Tesla, the vehicles “recorded the lowest charge time for an electric vehicle traveling across the country,” which should be enough to secure a sport in the Guinness Book of World Records.

The ability to travel across the country using the route that YOU want — which is possible with a gasoline, diesel, or even a hybrid-engine vehicle — won't be viable until Tesla significantly boosts the number of Superchargers available. However, by 2015, crossing the country using just about any major route shouldn't be a problem for Tesla drivers.

I acknowledge that as-is the Model S is not economical to an average sedan but the same math and efficiencies should apply to a $30k 150 mile ranged EV making it much more interesting. The cost of a replacement battery will be interesting as we do not have a good figure for either their cost or endurance at this point. It is probably safe to assume though that these would not be more expensive than the maintenance of an ICE powered vehicle over its lifetime.